Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sold at auction for $ 143 million

The ultra-rare Mercedes-Benz race car sold for $ 143 million earlier this month, making it the most expensive car ever sold.

RM Sotheby’s has announced that it has put up for auction a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe for 135 million euros, or about 143 million dollars. The sale broke the previous record of the most expensive car sold at auction by more than $ 95 million and exceeded the record of $ 70 million for a car sold privately.

The winning bid was made by British car collector, advisor and dealer Simon Kidston on behalf of an unnamed client. Kidston lobbied the Mercedes-Benz board for 18 months to consider selling the car.

The sale was first reported Hagerty Insider, took place on May 5 at a secret and very unusual auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Only individual Mercedes-Benz collectors and customers were invited to participate.

The 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe is one of two created in 1955 and is considered one of the most expensive cars in car history. It was built by the Mercedes racing department and named after the chief engineer and designer Rudolf Uhlengaut.

The car was based on the company’s successful W 196 R Grand Prix car, which won two world championships with racer Juan Manuel Fangio. The 300 SLR had a larger 3.0-liter engine and could accelerate to 180 miles per hour, making it one of the fastest road legal cars of the time.

Mercedes-Benz owned both 300 SLR cars – the May 5 sale caught many collectors by surprise.

“It is reasonable to say that no one ever imagined that this car would ever be put up for sale, so for Mercedes-Benz to ask RM Sotheby’s to hold an auction was an absolute honor,” said Peter Wallman, chairman of RM Sotheby’s in the UK and EMEA. .

Mercedes-Benz has said it is donating proceeds to the creation of a fund for scholarships and educational research in the field of environment and decarbonisation.

Prior to the sale of the most expensive car sold at auction was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, which in 2018 went to RM Sotheby’s for $ 48.5 million. The 1963 Ferrari GTO was sold privately in 2018 for $ 70 million.